aggiegrads

I was on the way home Friday when I heard the dreaded "tick tick tick" of a foreign object in my rear tire. I stopped as quickly as I could to find a sizable chuck of glass dead center in my tire. I did not have the presence of mind to take a photo before I pulled it out, but I did take a photo of the offender. I thought for sure the extraction would be followed by hisssssssss, but was amazed that I got off scot-free. You can see the scuff marks that were made when the road attempted to hammer the glass through the Kevlar belt.

The tire which shrugged off the attack is a Continental Top Contact with approximately 1300 miles on it. I have not had a single flat on front or rear on these tires.



What is the nastiest road hazard your tires have survived?

AdamDZ

I wouldn't know. I only would know the hazards they didn't survive

fietsbob

10p Nail in bottom and out the side... but the tube was a casualty, tire went on for a long time after then ,
New tube inside.

at least The tire did not need a Tetanus Booster

mikeybikes

I was riding with a friend who was following me. We heard a loud pop and stopped. We discovered a drywall screw lodged in her tire

I some how dodged that one.

ItsJustMe

Not a lot of road hazards around here. I used to pick up a glass sliver or a staple about once a year, but for the last couple of years all I've had have been pinch flats when I let the pressure get too low.

zacster

Got my first flat in 3 years today and I don't spend $100 on tires, but I do ride GP4000s. It was on the front too, which is surprising since they are almost always on the rear. I heard something was stuck in my tires after coming off the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan but when I stopped it was already gone. On the Manhattan Bridge back to Brooklyn it went flat. I replaced the tube on the bridge and I couldn't find anything in the tire.

wolfchild

The nastiest flat I had was a self drilling screw that went through my nokian extreme studded tire, just as I left work on one cold february afternoon. I don't think any tire would of been resistent to that.

billdsd

I've pulled a lot of goat heads out of my tires. Slime kept me going.

The I've had screws go through my tires twice. One of those times it went through the inner wall of the rim as well. The other time the screw went through one side of the tire and out the other. It's why I carry a spare tire.

I've also had a small nail take out a tire.

mnemia

Around here, the debris has been getting really bad lately (actually, pretty much all year). I think my area decided to cut back on street sweeping for cost reasons (or at least that's the story I've heard), so maybe that's contributing to the problem. I've had a number of flats recently, all due to broken glass on the road, and it seems like it's everywhere. I'm getting really tired of it - anyone have any tips on how to get the local authorities to pay attention to the problem, or even just who to contact? They just opened a new road near me, and it ALREADY has 3 different places where people have tossed glass bottles into the bike lanes within weeks of the road being opened. I can't even imagine what's going through the minds of the piggish "citizens" who think that's acceptable behavior, but it's a serious inconvenience and a safety hazard.

Alternatively, are Kevlar tires or some other specialty tire going to seriously be resistant to all the glass I'm encountering every day lately?

aggiegrads

The last couple of weeks, there has been a TON of glass on the roads. I've just been riding through it with some degree of confidence. I did, however, call the public works department for one of the particularly bad stretches of road. I called them in the morning, and the road was clear on my way home. Big kudos to Sherwood public works dept.!

After 400 miles with several flats on the Suckasaurus tires that came with my LHT, I can say yes - Kevlar tires are seriously resistant to glass.

Titmawz

One of the riding homies caught a 5 inch nail with his 700x23 rear tire ! Dude, thats like winning the lottery ! lol

scattered73

about a year ago I heard a ticking noise which was the nail hitting the chainstay anyway very lucky pulled the nail out and didn't loose any air.

Titmawz

^ lol damn

scattered73

Cheap forte tires >$15

Henry III

I ride on Michelin Pro Race 3's on my bike. Yes pricey tires but it's just what came on my bike and I commute twenty miles round trip. I'm surprised from the stuff I ride over and I never have gotten a flat...knock on wood since I don't ride with spares. It's kinda funny since I usually inflate them up to 115psi and rocks shoot out when I ride them over pretty dang fast.

irclean

I'm the nastiest road hazard that my tires have ever survived; I overinflated my Michelin Pilot City tires and suffered a front end blowout. I managed to survive the insult, as did my tire, but the tube was a write-off. To date I have yet to suffer a puncture flat with those tires, ditto my Conti Top Contacts, and ditto my Schwalbe Marathon Winters (knock on wood). I wish I could say the same for the OE Kendas that came with my Schwinn. 3 flats in a week is the reason why it now sports the Michelins.

ItsJustMe

Did you mean > $15 or < $15? Most tires are > $15.

LeeG

pretty good, my most spectacular nail puncture was a 12d nail that went through the tire, tube AND rim. This was 35yrs ago on a Super Champion double wall rim. WHACK WHACK WHACK....wtf?

scattered73

Whoops good catch, I meant less than $15. I really liked the tires but the strangest thing the casing split on the inside of the front tire not to long after making for a bumpy ride. Still have the tire that was puctured kinda lost faith in that brand tires after the weird casing issue keep it as an emergency spare.

wunderkind

Don't know. My $20 Kenda Kwests have been rolling fine for over 2000 miles now. Did I just jinxed myself?
Route consists of nasty industrial roads to stamped gravel trails. Nuts, bolts, grass, fist size rocks....
So i say you have spent way too much.

RT

I've been riding on Forte VersaTrac's for five years. They are no longer made, but still rollin' strong. I went from Colorado Springs to Dallas on them without a flat. I also like the Gotham. Heavy, but solid.

nashcommguy

Pulled a 2 inch drywall screw out of my month old Schalbe Marathon Plus. It was buried up to the head. Had to use the phillips attachment on my multi-tool to unscrew it out. I keep it in my tool-bag as a reminder. Wish I was PC savvy enough to take a pic and upload it like the OP.

jharte

1800 miles this year on Continentals. One broken spoke. No flats.

It sounds like we get off scott-free but in reality we pay every time we ride these heavy but reliable tires. Lol.

Jerry H

Sundance89

Not so fast. As you can see, this screw had gone completely into my tire (Serfas Survivor Series) right down to the washer. I heard it clapping against the ground before I saw it. When I pulled the screw out I fully expected the tire to shrink. I was amazed to actually see the separate layers of the tire concave in to protect the tube. You could actually see the kevlar do its thing. The tube was untouched and had full pressure. I continued to ride home.

I now have Continental Ultra Gatorskins only because I sold that bike with the tires on it, but I wouldn't hesitate owning another pair.


Serfas..jpg.

Sixty Fiver

I have put more than 10,000 km on these tyres (Schwalbe Hurricanes) and there is still plenty of tread left and they have never suffered a flat save for a valve stem that tore away from a tube... and they were $35.00 each.



Worst flat ever was when I was booking it on my 1933 CCM roadster and picked up a nail which went straight through the tire and one side of the tube and then punched a few dozen holes in the other side of the tube as I brought the bike to a stop.

There was no patching that one.